Kenji Black
Kenji "Ken" Black is a wandering Visored who comes stumbles into Gray City and discovers the spiritually empowered Mary and comes out of hiding to train and guard this young girl from the evil forces who would want her power. Appearance Kenji has longer black hair that he tied into a low pony tail going down his back. His right side burn is longer than his left. Stubble trails along his jawline to his chin, his silver eyes almost childlike. In his Soul form, Kenji wears a black, short sleeved trench coat with white accents to it. He wears a white long-sleeved shirt underneath with the sleeves stopping halfway on his forearm. There are brown fingerless gloves on his hands. He also wears baggy jeans and shoes that look like typical Shinigami sandals. A large, white ribbon is tied around his waist. He carries his concealed nodachi Zanpakuto walking staff in his right hand and general always has a grin on his face. In his Gigai form, he looks almost the same. Except he wears typical human clothes (he prefers form fitting t-shirts and jeans most of the time). His favorite outfit is a light blue shirt, white hoodie and darker jeans with a hole in its right knee. And black shoes. His Hollow form, Kenji's mask is simple mask with wolf ears and three black triangles coming up from the jaw line resembling claw marks on his cheeks. The eye holes are narrow slits but there are no teeth or other "menacing" attributes to the mask. His hair also seems to spike a bit from the dark energy coarsing in his body. A dark aura flows around his body and when angered the aura flares in black flames around his body. Even though he has these new clothes, he still has his old Shinigami clothes with him. A memento from his life before he had to run. Along with the typical Shinigami gear, he also had Japanese-styled vambraces colored white with a black wolf running along the forearm. Personality Kenji is a playful, carefree wanderer with a love for puns and cooking. He has a rather positive outlook on life and has a wonderful sense of humor. He's often viewed as eccentric and overly energetic. He's also a bit of a pervert, as he has gained a reputation of accidentally running into girls whether they bathe, change or are doing any other act. However, Kenji is still very loyal to his friends and those he deems his allies. Kenji believes in universal justice and harmony and seeks to do that every where he goes and in any way he can. Whether it be by his blade, his recipes or his jokes. If he can maintain and perserve harmony with people, he feels at ease. In battle, he still retains his joyful nature, but keeps a serious edge to it. He makes jokes often to sometimes throw his opponent offguardd and think he's "all bark and no bite" when he's got plenty of bite to back him up. He is, however, not without his faults. Though he is extremely intelligent, Kenji often lets his emotions override his logical judgment on a situation and it can get him in tight situations. He also enjoys the thrill of battle. He likes to challenge stronger opponents to test skill and become even stronger if he can. Time has mellowed out some of these tendancies of his, but he can still be impulsive and reckless. Things that often trigger him are people (especially enemies) being unfair, abuse of power and using people for selfish gain. He also has his own demons to deal with. Literally and metaphorically. When Kenji became half Hollow, he had to deal with the inner demon and like the other Visored chose to learn how to control it. However, even when he thought he had full control, he hurt Riri in a practice match because the Hollow took over in the situation. When Kenji regained control a moment later, he felt horrible and made it is his quest to become stronger so that doesn't happen ever again. This has, however, made him lose his Bankai because of how unworthy he feels and must work to regain the name of his Bankai. In his Hollowed form, he's more snarky and dark. He becomes deathly serious, and overwhelmingly brutal. While in his regular form he is merciful, his Hollowed form shows no mercy. In fact, it takes pleasure in causing great pain to its opponents, especially if both Kenji and this Hollowed Kenji agree upon that the person deserves it. Kenji has taken to calling this Kenji the Dark Wolf, as its mask appears to be wolf like. Relationships Mary Johnson- His relationship to Mary is a mentor-like relationship. She's got immense power locked up inside of her and Kenji has volunteered his time to help her figure out what her powers are. He often tries to keep her spirits up as she seems, "way too serious for a young girl". Even though she has immense power, Kenji is still able to defeat her in combat due to his experience rather than her natural talent. While Mary may retort and banter with Kenji, she has still found someone trustworthy in him. Even though she thinks Kenji can be an idiot some times. Riri Takashi- Kenji's partner, rival, "pain-in-the-ass", best friend and lover, Riri is often seen as the more serious individual. At a younger age, Riri was often annoyed by Kenji's rather carefree and relaxed behavior. His puns were always grating and Kenji had accidentally seen her getting changed and bathing in a hot spring a few times which often led her to use her kido skills to punish him in a vareity of ways. However, as the two grew closer over the training at the academy, Riri slowly bonded to him. For all of his laxity and carefree behavior, there was a warrior and leader just below the surface. So she "tolerated his whimsical behavior" because of his warrior's heart. It wasn't until much later, during a mission, that they truly realized that they were soul mates for each other. That night they made it official. Kenji would often tease Riri about her serious nature, often calling her the Ice Queen due to her cold and curtness. She would rarely exhibtt her temper on anyone else but Kenji. Raito-momura- Raito is a kind spirit towards Kenji. She is encouraging and acts motherly to him. She often acts as a voice of reason in his head, offering advice in battle when needed and is for the most part in full connection to Kenji. When Kenji, however, lost control of his Hollow and hurt Riri he lost a part of his connection to her. Raito desperately wants to give Kenji Bankai once again, but his guilt he holds over himself prevents her from doing so and she wants nothing more than to help him heal. History Overview Much loke other Shinigami, Kenji was once a Soul residing in the Soul Society. He showed powers forming and was taken it to be taught in the way of the Shinigami. It was within the Academy that he met his partner/rival/best friend, Riri Takashi. Riri came from the noble Takashi family and was training as well to be a Shinigami. The two became friends and rivals to one another. While Riri was often the more serious of the two and was often annoyed with Kenji and his carefree attitude, their partnership and bond proved to be a force to be reckoned with. 100 years ago, however, Kenji and Riri fell victim to Hollowification and were hunted. Much like the other Visored, he and Riri trained to control their Hollows. Once his training was complete, he took to traveling the world alone as to search for a cure himself. It is also revealed that he had lost control of his Visored form at one point in the training and hurt Riri which damaged his psyche and he lost the ability to use Bankai. In order to try and regain his balance, as well as search for a cure, he decided to leave so that way he couldn't hurt Riri again and so he could make himself stronger. It was on his travels that he stumbled into Gray City when he felt a strong spiritual presence and decided to investigate and found Mary. Thus, his adventures began. Arrival in Gray City Kenji first arrived in Gray City due to an immense amount of spirit pressure he felt coming from within the City.Thanks to his experience as a Shinigami, he knew the Hollows wouldn't be too far behind after this pressure. So, he decided to investigate. As he wandered around the City, searching for the Hollow, his Gigai form grew hungry so he went to the nearby diner to fuel up. When he walked in the door, he was immediately blasted with the immense spirit pressure. Feeling luck to be on his side, he went up to the front counter and met Angelica Johnson, the owner of the diner. As he was taken to his seat, he met Mary Johnson and felt the pressure swarming around her. Kenji couldn't help but notice that she looked familiar as well... Knowing that the Hollows would come for her, Kenji decided to stay close by even after his meal was finished. For he knew that he wouldn't be able to feel anything but her spirit pressure. Later that night, Kenji saw Mary leave the diner from a nearby building. Resorting to stay in his Gigai form and not step out of it unless absolutely necessary, he tailed her from the rooftops. It was when Mary passed a dark alley that the Hollow made its move. Jumping in, Kenji was able to fight off this enemy in just his Gigai form and helped Mary escape. Recognizing him from before, Mary thanked the "odd man" for saving her life and went off before he could stop her. Knowing that the Hollow would come again, he stayed close by once more. The next night, Kenji tailed Mary all the way home. He, however, found it odd that the Hollow didn't come for her again. Until Kenji realized that Hollows may not try the same plan twice and went back to the diner quickly. As soon as he burst in through the doors, he saw the Hollow was nowhere to be found. That was until it came crashing into the diner. While Angelica was on the phone with her sister before the Hollow came crashing in, Kenji tried to hold off the beast while everyone was running away. When Mary came rushing onto the scene, Kenji told her to get back but was too late in that Mary was scooped up and the Hollow ran away. Kenji gave chase to Hollow and cornered it at the cemetery. Leaving his Gigai, Kenji revealed his Shinigami power and defeated the Hollow with relative ease. Not before hearing the Hollow speaking to Mary as the "Boss' little warrior" before disappearing. Angelica showed up moments later, and when Mary said that "he" saved him, Angelica looked around to see no one there while Mary could still see Kenji. Winking at her, Kenji left the scene to undo the damage. Little did Mary know Kenji would be sticking around for a while... An Apprentice Kenji showed up at the diner the next day when there was an opening for the chef at the diner. Having already erased Angelica and everyone else's memory and fixing up the window to the diner, only he and Mary were the only ones who could remember what happened. Initially, Mary tried to tell her sister that this was the guy who saved her last night. Angelica dismissed it as a dream and took Kenji to the back to see what he could do. Kenji, having spent a long time in his Gigai and trying to find suitable substanee that was tasty and not just fuel, had taken to cooking. He also found it enjoyable. He impressed the sisters with his cooking from basic ingredients and was given the job. Once Angelica left the room, however, Kenji revealed that he still remembered last night's events because he had erased everyone's memories except for Mary. When Mary began to ask questions, Kenji said that he would wait till their breaking order to explain the situation to her. At their break, Kenji revealed a taste of the world of the Shinigami. He explained the Hollows and of the Shinigami power. As he explained the situation, Mary took it all in stride. She later said it explained why she was able to see ghosts and what not. Kenji also explained that she had a powerful spirit, as that what drew him and the Hollow here. When Kenji asks who the parents are, she calls them Eric and Minumi. Recognizing Minumi's name, he explains that her mother was a Shinigami, a powerful one, and her powers must've been passed on to her. Mary denies it, saying her mother wasn't a Shinigami and rather a kind woman who loved to cook and paint. Before they can say anything more, Angelica calls them back to work. While they work, Kenji begins to wonder if he should've said what he said. However, a few moments later, Kenji is able to feel a flicker of Hollow energy nearby. Excusing himself because he's "got a call", Kenji heads into the back alley to switch into his Shinigami form to deal with the Hollow. Mary, seeing him head out, decides to follow. Kenji heads to the local park where a Plus is getting attacked by a rather large Hollow. Kenji arrives on the scene, with Mary close behind. Kenji draws out his Zanpakuto and charges at the Hollow. The young Plus cowers and watches as Kenji is able to defeat the monster. However, he gets knocked back and the Zanpakuto flies out of his hand and lodges itself in the ground in front of Mary. Kenji looks and tells Mary to run, as the Hollow will come for her. Mary, defiant against the Hollow, takes up the Zanpakuto and it for a moment remains the same before it shrinks down into a sword for her. A katana. She charges at the Hollow and attacks and surprisingly wins. Kenji, standing back up, says that his Zanpakuto had changed its form for her because it recognized the Shinigami inside of her and willingly changed for her so she could defend herself. But, to truly show what a Shinigami does, Kenji tells Mary how to do Konso so that she can help the Plus move on. Mary perfomrs the Konso and watches the spirit vanish. That's when Kenji explains that Shinigami don't only exorcise Hollows, they also help Pluses move on to the Soul Society to live happily. Seeing what the Shinigami does, and how it helps people, she asks Kenji if he could teach her how to be one. Kenji agrees. He explains that he will teach her the basic knowledge and when he felt she was ready, unlock the Shinigami within. The White-Haired Shinigami Over the next few months, Kenji teaches Mary much about the life of the Shinigami. In order to protect herself in fights so she can come along on fights and exorcisms of Hollows, Kenji taught her the basic of kido. Mary accompanied Kenji on several fights. Mary, now more realizing her power, brought more Hollows to Gray City. Mary also has communicated with more Plus and discovered the Jibakurei in her town and cleansed its spirit. The Hollows have gotten stronger and Kenji had shown his Shikai at this point to her in showing the next level of Shinigami. However, it was during one night, that her training became more intense and Kenji's past caught up to him. It was 5 months after Kenji had shown up. When Mary and Kenji had been dealing with another Hollow trying to get a hold of Mary, a woman burst onto the scene with long flowing white hair, her clothes torn and cuts and bruises all over her. Kenji recognized the woman immediately as Riri. Rushing over to help her, Mary and Kenji took her home to begin healing her. When Mary inquired about her, Kenji revealed that she was Kenji's partner. They worked alongside each other for many years and had grown a powerful bond. However, he had decided to leave to live a more peaceful life. Mary, however, doesn't buy the "peaceful life". Mary goes home that night while Kenji stays and watches over her. Kenji is then awoken the next morning by a slap to the face by none other than Riri. For a moment, they both stare at each other before Kenji shows his trademark smile and comments on her bed head. Riri, again, slaps him and sends him across the room and slamming into the wall. She comments on how stupid he was, leaving without saying goodbye and making her worry. Kenji retorts in saying that he's a "big boy" and can take care of himself. Riri, however, says he was still and idiot for leaving her and demands to know why he left. He turns somber and says he lost control of "it" and hurt her. Riri dismisses it, saying she is more than capable of handling "it" and that the damage wasn't serious. Kenji states that in that action, though, he lost Bankai as well. This takes back Riri. Kenji then changes the topic, asking what did that damage to her the previous night. She explains that she had been tracking a group of Hollows and they got the jump on her. They were higher leveled Hollows and they did a considerable amount of damage before she took care of all but one. In that instant, a rumble and Mary bursts into the room, saying that a Hollow was causing trouble downtown. Changing into his Shinigami form, he tells Mary to keep an eye on Riri while he deals with this Hollow. Mary is reluctant at first but stays behind while Riri says she can handle the fight. Kenji denies that fact and says that she is still weak from her wounds and needs time. Kenji arrives downtown and sees the rather large Hollow causing chaos. Summoning Raito-momura, Kenji charges into the fray and is surprised to see this Hollow has more power than he anticipated. That, and his body was weakened from healing Riri over night. Still, he was able to give it some damage before he was knocked back and at the beast's mercy. However, Mary and Riri arrived on the scene and managed to push the beast back for a few moments. Kenji quips at Riri this was the typical thing she would do, "Wait until the last second and steal ''my ''spotlight". Riri then cooly says that this was her battle to finish. Mary and Kenji witness Riri fight the monster and at the end, Kenji rejoins the fray and Mary see just how powerful the two can be together. After the battle, Riri states that she found out that Mary has Shinigami potential. Kenji explains taht he's been training her, giving her knowledge and getting her ready for her eventual transformation into being a Shinigami. Riri then agrees to stick around, to help Mary learn more kido as Riri is much more experienced in it. Kenji, to himself, remarks that soon Mary will be ready to be a Shinigami. Zanpakuto Spirit Kenji's Zanpakuto spirit looks like a martial arts master. A female martial arts master, flat chested and acts very motherly towards him. She has long blonde hair, and soft blue eyes that relaxes Kenji whenever he sees her. Her gi and belt, however, are flipped in color. Her gi is black while her belt is white. Raito cares about him deeply. And when Kenji lost his ability to call on her Bankai form, she desperately tries to help Kenji regain the name but he cannot due to his doubts in himself. Sealed In its Sealed form, Kenji's Zanpakuto is a nodachi blade. This is why he lacks in mobility, as the blade is long and cumbersome. When he took to hiding, and to traveling the Human World, he disguised the sword in a walking staff. Even when sheathed, Kenji uses it as a Jo staff which he cans still use to damage enemies. Shikai When Raito-mamoru has been called through "Arise!" the blade changes into a great sword that's wide and at the bottom and thins out to a point when it reaches the top. The blade itself is hollowed out in the middle and in the guard and is colored white. A star charm is attached by a silver cord at the pommel. In this form, it carries the element of light which Kenji has a special technique he calls "Heaven's Wave" which is light energy flying out in an arc from the blade. An interesting thing to note is that the Shikai form is actually a few inches shorter than its Sealed form. This provides a litte more mobility for Kenji but the sword also is wider which provides its own challenges and Kenji must adapt his style to wield the blade more efficiently. Either adopting more swift and sweeping single handed attacks or devastating two-handed strikes. Abilities Gigai In his Gigai form, Kenji requested that his Gigai be a bit stronger and faster so he's capable when confined in his Gigai. Otherwise, he's pretty much a normal human being other than with advanced strength, increased resilience to attacks and better speed. He uses this for when his artificall spirit is in his body, the body can take a beating if it were to fall into harms way and Kenji wouldn't have to worry as much. However, it is still a fragile human body and can still be destroyed rather easily by large Hollows. Shinigami In his Shinigami form, Kenji has the typical powers of Shinigami. He can fly, fight with dizzying speed and ability and perform the duties of any other Shinigami. He does, however, specialize more in offensive prowess and strategy. In his Shinigami form he can be more dexterous but is hindered by the size of his Zanpakuto. So, he devised a new way of battle by using the length of Zanpakuto as like a pole to use in enhancing his acrobatic movements. Within theis form, as well, he also taught himself the way of the Jo staff due to his concealed Zanpakuto. So, in some instances, he uses staff battle movements to attack Hollow and other harmful spirits and can take on small groups with relative ease. However, if the groups grow in size, he is at a disadvantage as he is no way completely skilled with this weapon. He does, however, have very limited kido knowledge. He only knows basic spells and doesn't remotely use anymore than just that. This puts him at a severe disadvantage against more skilled kido users and masters. Other weaknesses he's got is that he cannot match the strength of other fighters, he is physically weaker than most other Shinigami and others. Visored In his Hollowed form, he bears a flat mask with wolf-like ears and black markings along the side. He bears all of the similar traits of other Visored such as enhanced speed and power. Kenji developed a few techniques unique to this form only. One is called Cero Storm where he shoots off multiple shots of Cero Energy in a storm towards an enemy. A secondary technique he learned is in combination with his Heaven's Wave technique in which he can use Cero Energy to create the wave (albeit more devastating and not as easy to control) in the attack. His final attack is a hand-to-hand based move called Cero Wolf Claws in which Cero energy wraps around his arms and gives six inch, razor sharp claws on each finger. This a limited move, however, as he must have full concentration to maintain it and it usually is only for thirty seconds. He also uses his augmented abilities to use more advanced basic sword techniques (i.e. faster sword movements, enhancing his pole movements, etc.) Although he can maintain this form for five minutes, he still has trouble maintaining control in the later minutes. He often finds himself slipping into Dark Wolf's mindset and has trouble slipping out of his Hollowed state from time to time. List of Kenji's Techniques Kido -Healing Kido= Kenji learned how to use healing kido quickly so he could heal himself or any other of Shinigami comrades so that he could continue in the fight. -Sai= A basic imprisonment spell in order to detain adversaries he wants to use for questioning. However, he must maintain total concentration otherwise he can lose the spell rather quickly. - Shakkahō= The fire cannon so he can use an offensive attack. - El Escudo= A barrier to use as a shield for incoming attacks. Physical -Whirlwind= A spinning attack that creates a concussive wave around him that repels large groups of enemies or can be directed at one target. (Sealed and Shikai usable) -Stabbing Flurry= Using his speed, Kenji sends a storm of stabs at his opponent for a few moments before retreating. Typically used on one enemy (Shikai usable only) -Upheaval= An overhead attack that launches enemies into the air. Usually used on smaller enemies for that. It is also a strong attack but requires a lot of physical strength. (Sealed and Shikai usable) Shikai -Heaven’s Wave= An arc of white and gold energy hurtling towards a target or multiple targets due to the attack’s charge. -Light’s Defense= Kenji spins Raito-momura and its energy creates a disc that is a shield from in coming attacks, leaving all other sides open. -Heaven’s Wrath= An upgraded version of Stabbing Flurry in which light energy surrounds Raito-momura and adds additional damage. Hollow -Cero Blast= A shot of Cero energy at a single target. -Cero Storm= Multiple shots of Cero energy flying at one or multiple targets in a single area. -Cero Wolf Claws= Claws of Cero energy. Cannot use the sword or any other weapon while using this attack. -Hollow’s Wave= Heaven’s wave but used with Cero energy rather than light energy from the Shikai. Trivia -This is DC's first OC for Bleach -His Theme Song is One Week by Barenaked Ladies -His Battle Theme is Jibun Rock by ONE OK ROCK -His Visored Theme is Tomorrow by SR-71 -DC drew Kenji's art Category:Original Character